In Pictures: ‘People were too scared to push back’: Residents of historic Chinese town face eviction for theme park

A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying’s red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop.

In this picture taken on May 29, 2018, buildings are seen in front of a deserted street in Chikan village in Kaiping. Photo: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP.

Wu is one of several dozen inhabitants of a historic section of the town of Chikan in southern China who are stubbornly holding out against government pressure to sell their properties to make way for a “heritage” theme park.

Chikan was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2007 due to its 19th- and early 20th-century houses, which feature a unique mix of European and Chinese architecture, clock towers and intricate stone wall carvings.

Local officials are often under pressure to preserve heritage sites, but the resulting projects “often become so commercialised that they don’t always take grassroots perspectives into account,” said Leksa Lee, a specialist in the business of cultural heritage in China at New York University Shanghai.

Holdouts in Chikan, which is in Guangdong province, say the offered compensation of between 3,200-3,900 yuan (US$472–$575) per square metre is nowhere near enough to purchase a small apartment in the area.

Referring to relatives overseas who helped fund the renovation, he added: “What reason would they have to come back? None of it will be ours anymore.”

If residents reject the deal, the issue will “enter the judicial process” and property owners will forfeit compensation, a statement on the Kaiping city government’s website said. Local officials did not respond to AFP’s questions.

Support independent media

Partner with HKFP

HKFP Weekly Newsletter

What is Hong Kong Free Press?

Hong Kong Free Press is a non-profit English language news source seeking to unite critical voices. Free and independent, HKFP launched in 2015 amid rising concerns over declining press freedom in Hong Kong and during an important time in the city’s constitutional development.
Click here to learn how you can support us and ensure our independence.